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Around here, Trouble is a welcomed sight
By DANA MILDEBRATH © St. Petersburg Times, published September 15, 2000 SEMINOLE -- When Bobbie Brooker went to the Humane Society to adopt a puppy six years ago, all she wanted was a lap dog. She ended up with 65 pounds of Trouble. Not that Trouble lives up to his name -- in fact, he's quite the opposite. The affable black-and-white character has become a local celebrity because of his good-natured willingness to be dressed in costume as he walks around town with his owners, Brooker and her husband, Hank Brooker. "We've been dressing him up since he was a puppy," Mrs. Brooker said. "It started with a stars-and-stripes hat -- an actual doggie hat -- that we bought at the flea market. When we put it on him, people started honking and waving to him and saying, "Look! How cute!"' The couple then bought Trouble some sunglasses. Soon, they began searching flea markets and garage sales for costumes, she said. "It just kind of mushroomed from one little hat to a regular wardrobe of about 20 outfits," she said. When Hank Brooker takes Trouble for a walk, he often coordinates his own clothes to match his dog's outfit. One Saturday this summer, Hank was bedecked in an Uncle Sam hat while Trouble was festooned in a red-and-white visor topped with a red, white and blue bell and sparkling silver stars. On Trouble's back was a scarf bearing the image of an eagle and the American flag. As the patriotic pair made their way south on Oakhurst Road, a woman in a red convertible slowed down to wave and shout, "Hi!" Turning east onto Park Boulevard, they were greeted by more honks, waves and smiles. "We see Trouble everywhere," said Christine Booze, who was on her way into Portobello Square's Donut Connection with her 3-year-old daughter Amanda when Trouble passed by. "It's a bright spot in the day when Trouble walks by." Trouble has a costume for every season and holiday. On St. Patrick's Day, he wears a hand-painted wooden necklace that reads, "Pet me. I'm Irish." On Thanksgiving, he wears a hat topped with a straw turkey head and a band of fanned out feathers around his hindquarters, secured under his belly with Velcro. One Halloween, the dog was dressed as a pumpkin, Mrs. Brooker was a witch and her husband was a devil. "We get carried away once in a while," said Mrs. Brooker, laughing. At Christmastime, Brooker dresses in a Santa costume and Trouble is adorned as an antler-wearing reindeer. "A sheriff asked us not to walk down Park Boulevard in that costume because people were stopping their cars in the middle of the road to look at us," Brooker said. "People stop and take pictures all the time," his wife said. "I remember one foreign couple with a German-sounding accent saying, "We've got to take these pictures back home. Our friends aren't going to believe what these people do in America -- they even dress the dogs!' " Trouble is half springer spaniel, half blue tick hound. "We thought he'd be a small dog, because the guy who helped us when we adopted him emphasized the springer spaniel part," Mrs. Brooker said. "When we took him to the vet, he told us, "Enjoy him while you can; he's not going to be a lap dog very long.' " The Brookers still are enjoying Trouble. Whether he is dressed as a hot dog, the Easter Bunny or an angel, he is friendly and approachable. "Nothing fazes him," Mrs. Brooker said. "He's very laid-back, a real gentleman." Seminole resident Michele Glenn's family has experienced Trouble's temperament. "Our children get so excited when they see Trouble. They come in the house with Cheshire grins," Glenn said. "It's refreshing to see the joy that such a simple pleasure can bring to people. It's like a breath of fresh air."
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